Difference Between Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit

Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are two very famous novels written in the genre of higher fantasy by J R R Tolkein, a popular writer and Professor at Oxford University. There are many similarities in the two novels as well as film adaptations of the two novels. In fact, a few characters seen in Lord of the Rings are also found in The Hobbit though they are much younger. However, despite similarities, there are differences between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which is seen as a sequel of the earlier novel by many. This article attempts to highlight these differences.

Lord of the Rings has been one of the most successful movies of all times around the world. It was a trilogy actually with the three part movie series being written and directed by Peter Jackson. The three movies namely The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King got released in 2001, 2002, and 2003 respectively. The three movies are based upon J. R. R. Tolkein’s epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings that the author started out as a sequel to his earlier fantasy novel for children called The Hobbit. However, the canvas of the Lord of the Rings got bigger and bigger, and it evolved from the shadows of The Hobbit to become an epic novel in itself.

Those who have read both The Lord of the Rings as well as The Hobbit know that there is a great difference in the tone and the tenor of the two novels, but with Peter Jackson being in charge of the first two films made under the name of Hobbit, there is a conscious attempt to replicate the success of the earlier trilogy of Lord of the Rings by inserting some of the characters of those movies in the new Hobbit movies. However, he has clarified that while The Hobbit is a movie made for children, The Lord of the Rings was certainly not in the mould of a kid movie. However, with the subject being very similar and locations of the two movies being the same, audiences are going to feel that the two Hobbit movies take place and belong to the beginning of the trilogy of Lord of the Rings.

Lord of The Rings vs The Hobbit

• Despite the fact that the two novels were written one after the other by J. R. R. Tolkien just before and during the WW II and appear to prequel and sequel (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings).

• The Lord of the Rings eventually grew much bigger in theme and canvas than The Hobbit and became a very popular novel itself (even more popular than The Hobbit).

• While The Hobbit revolves around the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and he is seen in the Lord of the Rings as well, he is shown much older as Lord of the Rings happens to be a sequel of The Hobbit.

• Again, while The Hobbit aims at kids, there is no such attempt by the author in The Lord of the Rings.

• The Hobbit got published in 1937 while The Lord of the Rings was published in 1954-55.

• The events taking place in The Hobbit are shown on a smaller scale than the events in The Lord of the Rings.